Improving Care with Handheld Electronic Medical Records
Author Information
Author(s): Robert C. Wu, Sharon E. Straus
Primary Institution: University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hypothesis
Do handheld electronic medical records improve physician performance and patient care?
Conclusion
Handheld electronic medical records may improve documentation, but more studies are needed to confirm their benefits.
Supporting Evidence
- Two studies showed that handheld electronic medical records improved documentation.
- One study found that documentation time was longer with handheld records.
- Another study noted an increase in incorrect diagnoses with handheld records.
Takeaway
Using handheld computers to keep medical records might help doctors write down more information about their patients, but we need to study it more.
Methodology
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials comparing handheld electronic medical records to paper records.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the small number of studies and specific patient population.
Limitations
The studies were limited to orthopedic patients and did not assess clinical outcomes.
Participant Demographics
Patients included postoperative orthopedic patients and practitioners involved in their care.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.00
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website